I’ve been teaching a series through Psalm 25 in my adult Bible class the last several weeks. The theme of the lesson is taken from verse 1 where David says, “Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.” The main point of the series is that it is vital for victorious Christian living to offer our lives to God on a daily basis. We’ve been looking at the rest of the Psalm to learn some of the results of lifting up our soul to God.
The result I taught on last week is found in vs. 4-5 where David writes, “Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me…” The result of offering our life to God I see in these verses is a desire for God’s will. David was a man who sincerely desired to fulfill God’s plan for his life. Like the rest of us, he faltered from time to time, but it was a true desire of his heart nonetheless.
A study of some of the key words in this passage offered some very encouraging thoughts. The Hebrew word for the word “ways” in vs. 4 is derek. It literally means a road. It figuratively means a course of life. Of all the roads this life has to offer, the desire of the Christian ought to be to get and stay on the road God has for them. There is a path God wants us to travel in this life and we should desire to walk it.
The Hebrew word for “paths” in vs. 4 is orach which means a well trodden road or caravan. It caught my attention that David used two different English words in this verse that, on the surface, appear to have virtually the same meaning. A quick look at the Hebrew definitions reveal the difference. Every time a Christian takes the first step down the road God wants them to walk in this life, it is a giant step of faith. The encouraging truth I see in this verse is that when you start down that road, you will quickly find that you are not alone. The path of God’s will is a path that many have been on in the past and many are on now. It’s a well trodden road. You’re part of a caravan on that road.
There are certainly times when surrendering to God’s will is a nerve racking thing. Just encourage yourself with the thought that when you step on that road, you’ll be marching along side an army of people striving to serve God themselves.
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